76 Quotes by John Holt

By now I have come to feel that the fact of being a ‘child’, of being wholly subservient and dependent, of being seen by older people as a mixture of expensive nuisance, slave and super-pet, does most young people more harm than good

The only thing to do was to turn off the questions and watch - like a child. Take it all in. See everything, worry about nothing.

But the greatest difference between children and adults is that most of the children to whom I offer a turn on the cello accept it, while most adults, particularly if they have never played any other instrument, refuse it.

I have no problem with boredom, or not knowing what to do next. My only problem-which I may never solve--is finding enough time to do all the things I would like to do.

The person who really needs to know something does not need to be told many times, drilled, tested. Once is enough.

We learn to do something by doing it.There is no other way.

Old dogs can learn new tricks. Not only that, but can perhaps learn them even better than young dogs-once they get over the notion that they can't learn them.

When you're not sure which of two or three methods to use, then try all of them on a simple problem and see which one gives you the answer that you know is right.

In other words, start with what you know, and use a little guesswork, or common sense, or whatever you want to call it, to figure out what you don't know.